The rematch of Super Bowl L will be taking place this Thursday which can only mean one thing: the NFL betting season is finally upon us. Last year had its share of moments but one of the most memorable came in the Super Bowl itself.
Peyton Manning had spent 18 years in the NFL and in those 18 years he earned a reputation as one of the best to ever pick up a football. More so, Manning was notorious for his 4th quarter comebacks in which Manning had to take the hopes of a team with a lackluster defense on his shoulders. Too many times Manning would lead his team to an early lead only to have the defense come up short, ultimately resulting in the opposition taking back the lead.
This gave way to more 4th quarter comebacks that one can recall, but the bottom line is Manning was ‘Captain Comeback’. Which makes his final game ever played in the NFL that much more ironic. Super Bowl L can best be summed up with one word: defense.
The final score was 24-10 which is one of the lowest scoring Super Bowls in recent years. But what makes this Super Bowl win for Manning so special is that he played terrible. Not to take anything away from the future Hall of Famer, but his performance in the Super Bowl was downright awful; going 13/23 for 141 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception. For the first time in his career the defense had won the game for Manning. Captain Comeback didn’t have to pull magic out of thin air; instead the defense carried his poor play on their shoulders. It seems almost too good to be true that a man who built a career by carrying poor defenses would one day step away from the NFL after giving a performance that required a defense to win the game.
The NFL betting odds had the Panthers pegged as the favorites to win, likely due to their domination in the NFC title game and the fact that they were almost undefeated. As is tradition in the NFL the 2016 season will be kicked off by a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl. With an offseason separating the last time these two teams went at it, it’s possible anything can happen. Let’s check the odds across the top sportsbooks to see how these two teams fare.
Thursday the 8th of September
Carolina Panthers -3 (125) 41 ½ (-110) -180
Denver Broncos +3 (+105) 41 ½ (-110) +160
The Panthers will be anxious to rain on Denver’s Super Bowl parade to kick off the 2016 NFL season Thursday night. Cam Newton is the face of the franchise and he’ll be leading the Panthers after throwing for 3,800 yards last year. This year Newton will have Kelvin Benjamin who is returning from injury. Benjamin caught for over 1,000 yards and 9 scores in his rookie season back in 2014. With Benjamin in the mix, Tedd Ginn Jr. will have more room to work with. Defensively the Panthers will be without star cornerback Josh Norman, but there is still plenty of defensive talent for Carolina, including linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis.
The reigning Super Bowl Champions will return with one of the league’s best defenses, heralded by none other than the talented Von Miller. Miller will be joined by defensive powerhouses DeMarcus Ware and Aqib Talib. The biggest issue facing this team is their quarterback, Trevor Siemian. Siemian has no starting experience and will only be entering his second year in the league. But behind one of the best defenses Siemian will have plenty of time and opportunities to learn. The Panthers, however, have a score to settle and at the end of the day you might want to side with the NFL betting odds.